Buses are part of a
fleet of more than 100 fuel-cell vehicles DaimlerChrysler has in
operation worldwide

Real world experience
in day-to-day operation in pursuit of viable emission-free mobility
solutions

Photo: DC

Dr. Till Becker, Chairman and CEO of DaimlerChrysler Northeast Asia (left) presents a ceremonial key to a Mercedes-Benz Citaro Fuel Cell bus to Mr. Wang Xinsheng, who is with the Beijing Public Transportation (Holding) Group. DaimlerChrysler presented three Mercedes-Benz Citaro fuel cell buses to the City of Beijing

Peking/Stuttgart -
DaimlerChrysler delivered three hydrogen-powered Mercedes-Benz Citaro fuel
cell buses to the City of Beijing today, at the opening of the 4th
International Clean Vehicle Technology Conference and Exhibition.
"Having hydrogen-powered fuel-cell buses in operation on the streets
of Beijing is a small but significant symbolic step in reducing pollution
in this great city," said Dr. Till Becker, Chairman and CEO of
DaimlerChrysler Northeast Asia. "

As part of DaimlerChrysler's
long-term commitment to China and partnership with the City of Beijing, we
are bringing the very latest fuel cell technology to China. We want to
make a contribution to the efforts of industry and government to make
Beijing a better place to live and work, and hope this will help
complement and reinforce the Chinese Central Government's goal to further
pursue sustainable development and alternative energy sources." The
fuel-cell buses were provided to the City of Beijing under the auspices of
the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology and the United Nations
Development Program /Global Environmental Fund, Demonstration for
Fuel-cell Bus Commercialization in China.

These buses are part of a
fleet of 36 buses DaimlerChrysler now has in operation in Europe,
Australia and Asia in order to gain real world experience in day-to-day
operation in its pursuit of viable emission-free mobility solutions. In
October 2005, the fuel-cell buses passed the one million kilometer mark, a
performance that, by far surpasses all previous trials of fuel-cell buses,
having clocked up a total of 70,000 operating hours.

"These buses have
convincingly demonstrated the reliability and robustness of fuel-cell
performance in various climatic zones and topographies," said Prof.
Herbert Kohler, Vice President, Body and Power-train Research and Chief
Environmental Officer of DaimlerChrysler. "They have withstood the
winter cold of Reykjavik and Stockholm as well as the heat of Madrid. They
have performed well in flat terrain as well as with gradients of up to
eight percent in Porto and Stuttgart. We are convinced that the experience
from the streets of Beijing will contribute significantly toward our goal
of series production of fuel-cell vehicles."

DaimlerChrysler is a pioneer
in fuel-cell development, and since the early 1990's has produced more
than 20 research vehicles and prototypes. Since 2004, DaimlerChrysler
delivered 60 hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles based on the Mercedes-Benz
A-Class, to customers in the U.S., Europe, Japan and Singapore. Together
with the fuel-cell buses, and Mercedes-Benz and Dodge fuel-cell Sprinters,
the Company has more than 100 fuel-cell vehicles on roads around the
world, more than any other vehicle manufacturer.

The worldwide trials of
fuel-cell vehicles have given the developers of the fuel-cell stack
valuable information for the extension of fuel-cell lifetimes. The
performance of the current generation of stacks is well above
expectations: more than 2,000 operating hours without any power losses.
This brings fuel-cell lifetimes even closer to those of conventional
gasoline and diesel engines.

In order to focus expertise
and resources and to press ahead with the development of the fuel-cell,
DaimlerChrysler is working together with Ford Motor Company and Ballard
Power Systems in a strategic alliance. DaimlerChrysler and Ford are
focusing on ways to best integrate fuel-cell drives into vehicles, while
Ballard will continue to develop and manufacture fuel-cells and electric
drives for fuel-cell vehicles.

Fuel cells are currently the
only technology that can achieve real zero emission in vehicles. Fuel
cells release energy from the reaction of hydrogen with oxygen. The
hydrogen-powered fuel cells emit only pure water vapor.